21ST CENTURY LEARNING ALLIANCE


It’s that time of the year again. As primary schools tackle


the SATs, Professor Mick Waters urges secondary teachers to exercise caution as these pupils prepare for life in year 7


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WALK AROUND most primary schools at this time of the year will reveal year 6 children engaged in practice for SATs, the culmination of their primary school experience. Most primary heads will say that, while they want the broadest


of learning for their children, at the moment they can focus only on the levels, the boosters, one-to-one, and catch-up sessions. Cometh June and we can look at the richness of


learning: for now, it might not be pretty to watch, but practice it is. The SATs preparation that began as a murmur down in year 3, built to rumble in year 4, now reaches a crescendo. For the pupils, the practice in earnest began a few


months ago and tensions began to mount. The already narrow curriculum diet narrowed even further. The art area had been closed for months, the xylophones and glockenspiels are in cold storage and drama in hibernation. Indeed, English does not include speaking and listening and the interactive whiteboard does not interact much these days. Practice started earlier this year; there was one more past paper to provide that extra lead in time. The sad thing is that many children enjoy this


time. They are prepared for their own cup final, their Olympic games. They are ready for exams that will be part of the rest of their lives (hence the lack of need to change archaic examination practices in A levels or university courses; it’s June and it’s hot so let’s test).


Many children are excited about their day of reckoning at the pearly gates of secondary education and they know it matters. For some it matters in terms of how many sub-levels


they can rise, for others in terms of their overall grade, for some it matters how they get through the tortuous weeks and make it to the celebratory treat that their teachers have offered at the end of it all. The truth is that it does matter. The branding process


of the key stage 2 SATs takes years to fade from some children. For others, it fades in weeks as they arrive at secondary school to take their CATs (Cognitive Ability Tests) with the prediction at age 16 replacing


the certainty of the recent SAT achievement. If you are a secondary school teacher receiving the new intake in a few weeks, please exercise caution. First, the marking of the tests is highly suspect in the


way it allocates children to levels. Research by Bristol University, over three years to 2009, showed that the proportion of children who could be allocated to the wrong level in English writing was around 30 per cent. Over a national year group of 600,000 youngsters the statistics even themselves out but for an individual child they don’t. Second, remember that the level the child brings with them is only their level in a test: it is not their level


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as a person or a learner. It is the currency they offered their old school. There are many children who score Level 3 who are very able, articulate, contributing, intelligent, willing, friendly, successful people. Treat them as Level 3 people and they will eventually prove you right. Third, do not put too much store in the CATs tests.


branding season


The self-fulfilling danger exists there too. We predict their outcomes at 16, put them in the right sets and teach to the outcomes. After that the CATs tests claim their validity and we might have helped to prove it. Would you have your own child’s feet measured at age 11 and then buy the shoes it will need at 16? No, fashions change, don’t they? Fashions change in qualifications too. How many


schools are now “Baccing” their years 10 and 11, changing options, offering catch-ups, boosters and holiday sessions? It could be that education minister Michael Gove asked the right question and got the wrong answer but it does make us think about expectations based on previous performance, school accountabilities and pupil branding. Most of the children arriving in secondary schools


in September will be excited about the next stage of their schooling; they will think that their new school will take them to new learning heights, that they will have the widest learning experiences with amazing resources and specialist teaching. They will think these things because it was what most were told when they visited last autumn at school preference time. You remember; they were told they would be able to do pottery and experiments, drama and sport, use the library and ICT, go deeply into history and geography, and enjoy the amazement of mathematics. They would be able to design, cook, garden and make music. Most got the impression that they would be able to do all of these. Try and prove them right. Bother less about what level


is branded upon them and instead give them your school’s brand of learning that will stretch, challenge and take them to new horizons. Make them believe that learning is worth it and that they will never want to stop.


SecEd


• Mick Waters is a professor of education, president of the Curriculum Foundation and a board member of the 21st Century Learning Alliance.


Further information


The 21st Century Learning Alliance aims to provide a forum with wide representation from practitioners, government agencies and industry. The group debates difficult and sensitive issues to stimulate improvement and change. Visit www.21stcenturylearningalliance.org


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